Elliott Smith is by far and away one of Cascadia’s
greatest would-be national treasures. His value as
a singer/songwriter is immeasurable, as elements of
his distinctive vision have popped up in the work of
the thousands of musicians that have sprouted in his
wake. That he died tragically only further cemented
his immortality in the canon, however such lurid details
shed no light on his genius, excepting, perhaps, the
darkness and emotional turmoil that mark his songs
nearly throughout. New Moon leaves this legacy
intact, and is by no means a tossed-off posthumous
grab bag of scrappy outtakes and demos. To the contrary, Moon is
a compilation of fully-realized tracks culled from
the dozens recorded in the period between ’94-’97
that, for reasons that had nothing to do with quality,
didn’t make it onto the albums Smith released
at the time.
Smith
was a prodigious recorder, and often had difficulty choosing
which pearls of his incredible output would see release
on his LPs. The songs on these discs come from the same
sessions that resulted in Smith’s self-titled second
album and
Either/Or, and are easily on par with
virtually anything on those albums. The vast majority
of songs here are pared-down guitar/vocal numbers, rich
with Elliott’s trademark sonorous, quick ‘n
clean pluck/strum style, deft finger-picking, breathy
doubled vocals and harmonies. Every song here is a classic-to-be,
bound to ensnare listeners new and returning and further
concretize the incredible loss the world suffered with
Elliott’s passing. The package includes liner notes
by Tape Op magazine’s Larry Crane, as well as poignant
and enlightening entries by friends/former bandmates/Portland
scene mainstays Rebecca Gates, Sam Coomes, Christopher
O’Riley and Sean Croghan. There are a couple
Heatmiser songs, one Big Star cover, and the rest are
untouched Smith originals that tremble through with the
fragile, wounded glory for which listeners have come
to worship him. It’s rare that a posthumous release
offers anything so essential to the completion of one’s
holdings of any artist’s work however
New Moon is
a exactly that kind of goldmine.
Favorite Tracks:
Disc 1, “Going Nowhere”
Disc 2, “Whatever
(Folk Song inC)”
Steve Gunn is a hard-boiled suburban New Yorker with
a PhD in rockology and the propensity to point with
full-throttle moxie up to his ears and unflinchingly
declare, “Hey! These things ain’t garbage
cans, y’know!” sisterray@myway.com
